DIY Willoughby

Hi guys
Im constructing a Willoughby (gravel washer) to head out and find a few sapphires. Im almost finished just got the sieve holder to make. The trickiest bit I reckon.
Id love a few ideas and photos of what your ones look like.
The trick is getting a circle the right diameter for the twin 13inch sieves to slot into.
Cheers
Rumble

Ill be following this topic, am interested as well.

this may help

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/175/1422448133_buildingwilloughby.pdf

That's exactly the plans that I've copied Joe. Tricky bit now is how to get a perfect circle band that the sieves sit in.
I was thinking about softening the metal by heating it up and letting it cool. Then roughly bring the ends together by hand welding it then forming it to a circle on an anvil. Which I have at the 'mens shed'.

Rumble said:

That's exactly the plans that I've copied Joe. Tricky bit now is how to get a perfect circle band that the sieves sit in.
I was thinking about softening the metal by heating it up and letting it cool. Then roughly bring the ends together by hand welding it then forming it to a circle on an anvil. Which I have at the 'mens shed'.

Click to expand...

You could use aluminium flat bar and bend it around gas cylinder tank they are about the same size I think.

Yep ally would definatly be more easy to work with but I don't have the welding tools and rivets would probably get in the way.

Is there someone I could buy a pre made sieve holder from ?

if you have a wreckers near you that deal with caravans maybe the band from a gas bottle holder would do the trick and would have some adjustment in it too, if you replace a sieve and its a different diameter, just a thought

GOod isea Jamie ill go check on out I reckon.

Hi Rumble i'm from Sydney ,don't know if if that is convenient .If it is a simple job I can bang something up to your measurements. I have all the associated materials. happy to help out if your truly stuck.

That would be cool Dunny !
I'm over in West Oz visiting the olds for a while so ill get in contact with the exact specs when I get back to sunny Cairns.
What sort of tools do you have that will make a nice 13 inch loop ?
Im thinking steel so I can weld the rest of the bracket onto the loop.

Rumble you gave me the idea so this afternoon I decided that I should build a willoughby for our up coming gem fossicking trip. It's not what I had planned but it's all I have time for.

Just to answer your question if I'm not too late. The first thing I did was go looking for a solution to your problem. It was laying in the back yard. A 13" Corolla wheel. The sieve fitted better into the alloy wheel but I'm more comfortable working in steel so the steel wheel won out. I cut the side of the rim off right on the safety bead. It's about 10mm too big so I might just take a little out of it, perhaps about 20mm out of the circumference should do it. It will still be perfectly round and very strong and light weight.

I hope this helps. I should be finished my very simple willoughby tomorrow apart from a lick of paint so I might post another photo.

Phil

Very clever solution.

Oops... MB' I just stole your idea...

Yeah sometimes you have to take what you can't think of yourself

Anyway I might not get finished today. An old customer just rolled in with his hypochondriac Commodore. The temp gauge is in the red and the engine's as cool as a cucumber but it's bubbling like it's boiling. All I needed is another job

Anyway I got a couple of hours in the morning and here's my material list. There are no dimensions as I have a bad habit of not bothering with a tape measure. I went to a management training session once where they told me that "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Well I think you lose the innovative edge. I prefer to wander around the workshop looking for the next bit that I need. If anybody wants measurements I'll find the tape and add them later.

Keep in mind this is not meant to be a work of art. It's just a tool for a job. I know my limitations and I'm no artist.



A piece of 20x40 pine for the handle
25x25x1.6 RHS for the base frame and a bit of 25x50x1.6 RHS across the front
A pre-bent bit of 1.6 zincaneal sheet steel for the sleeves around the vertical post
An old bricky's spirit level that's no longer level for the main upright
A little 40x3 galvanized flatbar for the lugs
A piece of 12mm exterior plywood for the base (it's much lighter than particle board)
A 40x8 bolt with washers and nyloc nut
An old trampoline spring, I'm not sure if it will be suitable


I found a piece of zincaneal with a right angle bend so it just had to be cut with the 5" grinder and 1mm cut-off wheel.


When you're working with little items that need to be drilled and shaped it's easier done before you cut them off.


Lugs for the handle pivot. My handle is pine so I added a little bit of tube to the bolt hole to prevent it from wearing out.


If you are working with scrap yard bits one problem is that you can never find two tubes that fit neatly together. The easiest solution is to make the outer tube to fit. This is where I used the 1.6mm steel with the right angle bend. IMPORTANT NOTE: "If you intend to weld a tube over another piece of metal and you want it to be removeable you must put a spacer in place before you make the weld. Paper is the best option. A single sheet of paper in the join will make it removable. I used an old window envelope because I wanted enough clearance to make a sliding fit. Don't worry the paper cannot burn inside the joint regardless of the temperature"

Oh well, back to work....

Hi Rumble all sheet metal fabrication .Stainless woven mesh .Ally or steel fabrication. Could be convenient if you were Sydney based.

Well today didn't go to plan because I had to spend it at work. Anyway I got the willoughby scrapped together. It still needs paint and a little finishing but here it is.



I ended up taking 20mm out of the circumference of the ring to make it a neat but loose fit on the sieve.



All the bits without the sieves weigh nearly 7 kg.

Hopefully somebody will get some help from this to build your own.

Phil

Zuke_Lynzy said:

Oops... MB' I just stole your idea...

Click to expand...

ZL are you building a willoughby as well?

Rumble said:

That would be cool Dunny !
I'm over in West Oz visiting the olds for a while so ill get in contact with the exact specs when I get back to sunny Cairns.
What sort of tools do you have that will make a nice 13 inch loop ?
Im thinking steel so I can weld the rest of the bracket onto the loop.

Click to expand...

Rumble you're welcome to drop in for a look if you wish. We can drop a bit of gravel in and try it out. Capel near Bunbury.

Thats awesome. .. been wanting to knock something up nice and light like this great project.